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June 04, 2009

Where the Stimulus Falls Short

As someone who was interviewed at great length for "Your Share" (April/May 2009), I am very disappointed in how the story finally ran. The article suggests I am expecting to benefit, even profit, from the stimulus, when in fact my whole position is that we don't see any stimulus coming our way. My colleagues and I only see stimulus funding going to boost unemployment benefits, training for the unemployed, and expansion of government to administer those programs.

Furthermore, programs like the 65% COBRA discount actually hurt small businesses because we are required to fund the cash flow of the program each quarter at a time when we obviously don't have the cash to do so.

Nick Hackett

President, New Way Air

Bearings Aston, Pa.

I get calls every day from small business owners asking, "How do I apply for some of the stimulus money?" The SBA is trying to help with its 90% guarantee and by eliminating borrower fees, but there must be some other way to help these individuals who struggle to build our economy.

Jackie Alexander DiPofi

Director, Small Business Development Center

College of Business

Auburn University, Ala.

I'm the owner of two small businesses that generated $1.5 million and $750,000 in 2008 and employed 20 workers. Today revenues are less than half of what they were in 2008 and I have reduced staff by 70%. I've seen nothing regarding the stimulus package. I guess if my initials were AIG everything would be great.

Tim Montgomery

President, Vidalia Grills

Vidalia, Ga.

They Came, They Saw, They Tweeted

I have a simple if somewhat stealthy approach to Twitter ("Turn On, Tune In, Tweet Out" April/May 2009). Let's say you are discussing a hard drive failure. I'll follow you and post a data recovery tip that you'll find immediately applicable to your current scenario. My bio states data recovery as a primary area of expertise. This approach works very well and is nonintrusive.

Leonid Knyshov

CEO, Crashproof Solutions

Castro Valley, Calif.

After reading your story on Twitter, I bravely tweeted for the first time and linked my Twitter account to my new blog to promote our local search, shopping, and rapid delivery service. I'm excited to see who responds!